Adhesive performance of camelina protein affected by extraction conditions

Citation: Qi, G., Li, N., Sun, X. S., & Wang, D. (2016). Adhesive performance of camelina protein affected by extraction conditions. Transactions of the Asabe, 59(3), 1083-1090. doi:10.13031/trans.59.11686Camelina protein (CP) adhesives were prepared from de-hulled camelina meal using alkaline solubilization (CP 8, CP 9, CP 10, CP 11, CP 12) and isolelectric precipitation. CP 12 had the highest protein yield with 46.22%, more than twice that of CP 8 (22.71%), indicating that extreme alkaline pH is necessary for high camelina protein solubility and protein yield. Extreme alkalinization resulted in severe molecular dissociation of camelina protein, as indicated by the appearance of a low molecular weight band (20 kDa). Compared to CP 8, CP 9, CP 10, and CP 11, CP 12 had a completely denatured protein structure with greater amounts of exposed functional groups, which is beneficial to the adhesion strength of CP 12. CP 12 with 9% sodium chloride treatment demonstrated optimum adhesion performance with dry and wet strengths of 4.36 and 1.36 MPa, respectively, compared to 3.37 and 1.05 MPa for CP 12 without sodium chloride treatment. © 2016 American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers

Mobile Robot Simultaneous Localization and Mapping Based on a Monocular Camera

This paper proposes a novel monocular vision-based SLAM (Simultaneous Localization and Mapping) algorithm for mobile robot. In this proposed method, the tracking and mapping procedures are split into two separate tasks and performed in parallel threads. In the tracking thread, a ground feature-based pose estimation method is employed to initialize the algorithm for the constraint moving of the mobile robot. And an initial map is built by triangulating the matched features for further tracking procedure. In the mapping thread, an epipolar searching procedure is utilized for finding the matching features. A homography-based outlier rejection method is adopted for rejecting the mismatched features. The indoor experimental results demonstrate that the proposed algorithm has a great performance on map building and verify the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm

Peptide nanofiber hydrogel adjuvanted live virus vaccine enhances cross-protective immunity to porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus

Porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) is prevalent in swine farms worldwide and is a major source of economic loss and animal suffering. Rapid genetic variation of PRRSV makes it difficult for current vaccines to confer protection against newly emerging strains. We recently demonstrated that a novel peptide nanofiber hydrogel (H9e) could act as a potent adjuvant for killed H1N1 vaccines. Therefore, the objective of this study was to evaluate H9e as an adjuvant for PRRSV modified live virus (MLV) vaccines. Pigs were vaccinated with Ingelvac PRRSV MLV with or without H9e adjuvant before being challenged with the VR-2332 (parental vaccine strain) or MN184A (genetically diverse strain) PRRSV. Pigs vaccinated with MLV+H9e had higher levels of circulating vaccine virus. More importantly, pigs vaccinated with MLV+H9e had improved protection against challenge by both PRRSV strains, as demonstrated by reduced challenge-induced viremia compared with pigs vaccinated with MLV alone. Pigs vaccinated with MLV+H9e had lower frequency of T-regulatory cells and IL-10 production but higher frequency of Th/memory cells and IFN-γ secretion than that in pigs vaccinated with MLV alone. Taken together, our studies suggest that the peptide nanofiber hydrogel H9e, when combined with the PRRSV MLV vaccine, can enhance vaccine efficacy against two different PRRSV strains by modulating both host humoral and cellular immune responses

A Novel Improved Probability-Guided RANSAC Algorithm for Robot 3D Map Building

This paper presents a novel improved RANSAC algorithm based on probability and DS evidence theory to deal with the robust pose estimation in robot 3D map building. In this proposed RANSAC algorithm, a parameter model is estimated by using a random sampling test set. Based on this estimated model, all points are tested to evaluate the fitness of current parameter model and their probabilities are updated by using a total probability formula during the iterations. The maximum size of inlier set containing the test point is taken into account to get a more reliable evaluation for test points by using DS evidence theory. Furthermore, the theories of forgetting are utilized to filter out the unstable inliers and improve the stability of the proposed algorithm. In order to boost a high performance, an inverse mapping sampling strategy is adopted based on the updated probabilities of points. Both the simulations and real experimental results demonstrate the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm

Obstacles Regions 3D-Perception Method for Mobile Robots Based on Visual Saliency

A novel mobile robots 3D-perception obstacle regions method in indoor environment based on Improved Salient Region Extraction (ISRE) is proposed. This model acquires the original image by the Kinect sensor and then gains Original Salience Map (OSM) and Intensity Feature Map (IFM) from the original image by the salience filtering algorithm. The IFM was used as the input neutron of PCNN. In order to make the ignition range more exact, PCNN ignition pulse input was further improved as follows: point multiplication algorithm was taken between PCNN internal neuron and binarization salience image of OSM; then we determined the final ignition pulse input. The salience binarization region abstraction was fulfilled by improved PCNN multiple iterations finally. Finally, the binarization area was mapped to the depth map obtained by Kinect sensor, and mobile robot can achieve the obstacle localization function. The method was conducted on a mobile robot (Pioneer3-DX). The experimental results demonstrated the feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed algorithm

Effect of genotype on the physicochemical, nutritional, and antioxidant properties of hempseed

Hempseed products has been used as nutraceutical supplements and pharmaceutical products. However, hempseed has been underutilized as a food crop for human consumption. To fill the gap of limited knowledge of the variation of hempseed for food consumption, thirteen hemp varieties were selected to evaluate the effect of genotype on the physicochemical, nutritional, and antioxidant properties of hempseed. The tested hempseed contains 26.48–32.03% crude protein with average of 28.48%, 28.03–33.23% crude oil with average of 29.54%, 28.78–36.55% crude fiber with average of 33.49%, and 5.43%–6.32% ash with average of 5.89. Average test weight of 36.85 lbs/bu was relatively low compared to the standard test weight of 44 lbs/bu. Hempseed oil contained high portions of about 80% unsaturated fatty acids such as linoleic and α-linolenic acid. The DPPH scavenging activities varied greatly (0.37–28.78%) for the hydrolysates from different hempseed varieties. This study provides comprehensive understanding of the nutritional value of hempseed for human food and potential of a new crop in agricultural food system

Dysregulations of metabolites and gut microbes and their associations in rats with noise induced hearing loss

BackgroundNoise exposure could lead to hearing loss and disorders of various organs. Recent studies have reported the close relations of environmental noise exposure to the metabolomics dysregulations and gut microbiota disturbance in the exposers. However, the associations between gut microbial homeostasis and the body metabolism during noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) were unclear. To get a full understanding of their synergy in noise-associated diseases, it is essential to uncover their impacts and associations under exposure conditions.MethodsWith ten male rats with background noise exposure (≤ 40 dB) as controls (Ctr group), 20 age- and weight-matched male rats were exposed to 95 dB Sound pressure level (SPL) (LN group, n = 10) or 105 dB SPL noise (HN group, n = 10) for 30 days with 4 h/d. The auditory brainstem response (ABR) of the rats and their serum biochemical parameters were detected to investigate their hearing status and the potential effects of noise exposure on other organs. Metabolomics (UPLC/Q-TOF-MS) and microbiome (16S rDNA gene sequencing) analyses were performed on samples from the rats. Multivariate analyses and functional enrichments were applied to identify the dysregulated metabolites and gut microbes as well as their associated pathways. Pearson correlation analysis was performed to investigate the associations of the dysregulations of microbiota and the metabolites.ResultsNIHL rat models were constructed. Many biochemical parameters were altered by noise exposure. The gut microbiota constitution and serum metabolic profiles of the noise-exposed rats were also dysregulated. Through metabolomics analysis, 34 and 36 differential metabolites as well as their associated pathways were identified in LN and HN groups, respectively. Comparing with the control rats, six and 14 florae were shown to be significantly dysregulated in the LN group and HN group, respectively. Further association analysis showed significant correlations between differential metabolites and differential microbiota.ConclusionThere were cochlea injuries and abnormalities of biochemical parameters in the rats with NIHL. Noise exposure could also disrupt the metabolic profiles and the homeostatic balance of gut microbes of the host as well as their correlations. The dysregulated metabolites and microbiota might provide new clues for prevention of noise-related disorders

Delayed impact of natural climate solutions

Acknowledgement: This work was supported by the National Basic Research Program of China (2016YFA0602701), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41975113; 91937302), and the Guangdong Provincial Department of Science and Technology (2019ZT08G090). We appreciate the support from the China Association for Science and Technology Working Group for UN Environment Consultation. The authors declare no conflict of interests.Peer reviewedPostprin